


The Mountain High

by Narcissisticpeacock



Category: Uncharted (Video Games)
Genre: F/F, Possible Character Death, mountain climbing, nadine hates the cold weather, repost
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-11
Updated: 2018-12-11
Packaged: 2019-09-16 05:35:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16947999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Narcissisticpeacock/pseuds/Narcissisticpeacock
Summary: Chloe and Nadine climb a mountain with Sam in tow. It's about time a job went wrong.(Repost after getting deleted.)





	The Mountain High

**Author's Note:**

> Still bitter I have to repost.

"You're not going."

"What? Why not?"

Nadine scowls at Sam. "Because she," she points at Chloe. "Won't like it if you die. You're not going."

Chloe watches as Sam tries to process that.

"So you want me to, what, stay behind? Wait at the hotel?"

"I don't care what you do," Nadine admits. "But I care about Chloe. She won't be happy if you die, and I won't drag your ass off the mountain when you start to suffocate."

Chloe smiles. It's always nice to hear that Nadine is fond of her. Even if she's talking about Sam's death in the same breath.

"Suffocate? What the hell are you talking about?"

Nadine narrows her eyes. "You're a smoker. Your lungs don't have the capacity to go up past the tree line. All that tar you put in there? Blocks oxygen to the bronchi. Besides your bad breath, smoking is fucking with your body. You've got a higher chance for clots. Your blood carries less oxygen." She sets down the object in her hands-- a box containing climbing equipment-- rather hard and continues to stare him down. "I don't care if you die. But I care that my partner does. So you aren't going past the base camp."

Chloe listens to this all. She enjoys how smart her partner is, and she finds it funny, the bickering these two do. The stupid and uninformed might call it arguing like an old married couple-- Chloe doesn't see that. It's more like step-siblings who've been forced to share a bedroom. Except the shared room is a shared friend and that friend is her. Inevitably one will get the bigger share of the room and the other will be left in the corner. Chloe knows who gets what. Nadine already has a claim on a huge part of her. She and Nadine have been sharing stories, laughs, and, occasionally, beds for the better part of two years. It's scary, but she'd give anything for Nadine. Even her life, if it came to that.

"What am I supposed to do then? I'm in this job too, ya know."

"Stay off the mountain and, I don't know, have a heart attack."

Chloe sighs and moves to Nadine’s side, bumping her a bit with her arm. "You're staying at base camp. It's where you'll be most useful."

Sam throws his hands up. "Thank you, Chloe. That's more helpful than rude comments about me having a heart attack. What is that even about?"

Nadine rolls her eyes. "Smokers aren't just at a higher risk for lung cancer. Pneumonia, heart attack, emphysema, stroke, heart disease... You're much more likely to get any of those than we are."

"What the hell."

Chloe chuckles. "You know a scary amount about this."

Her partner shrugs. "Convinced my dad to quit about ten or more years back. Told him that and that I wanted him to be alive to meet his grandkids-- assuming he gets any. Jury is still out."

Sam visibly shivers. "Smaller versions of you? No thanks. That makes me more likely to smoke, myself." He takes his cigarettes from his pocket as though to prove his point. Sticking one between the corner of his lips, he looks to Chloe as he takes out a lighter. "So what am I doing at base camp?"

Nadine snatches the lighter from him. "Not inside."

He gives Chloe a questioning and rather annoyed look. "She's right. Not inside. You don't need to pollute the air in here." Chloe pulls the box of climbing gear a bit closer to her. "You, my friend, will be telling us where to go."

"Whaddya mean?"

She pulls a handheld GPS unit from the box. "I mean, we've got where the box should've ended up. We just have to get within range to connect to its tracker."

"So I sit in a warm cabin and watch a computer screen while you two head into the cold? Sounds good to me."

"No, you sit in a cold tent and watch a computer screen while us two head out to freeze our arses off and find some treasure."

Sam groans. "I guess that's okay. I've been put in worse situations-- like that time with the alligators."

"Stop complaining. You lived."

"You had to pull a tooth out of my arm!"

Chloe rolls her eyes and lightly smacks Nadine's arm. "Alright, children, calm down. How about we focus on the job?"

Nadine nods and tugs a tablet out of the box. It takes her a few moments, but she pulls up an overhead view of a mountain in a map. "This is where we're going. It's a popular climb for rich pricks. Some happen to be in the smuggling business and tried to get some rarer artifacts to base camp by using the mountain to hide the trade-off. Didn't work. Shipment was lost around here--" She taps a part of the picture. It's high up on the mountain, closer to the peak. "Along with three men. So that's where we head. Last known location should get us close enough to pick up the tracker."

"Then we take it back down the mountain and that's it! Profit." Chloe smirks. "Bad luck for those rich bastards that lost it, good luck for us."

"Why use a mountain to do trade-offs anyway? That's a lot of effort," Sam interjects.

The treasure hunter shrugs. "No witnesses besides the other people on the climb. Who's going to suspect they came back with anything but what they took? Besides, it was most likely a dead drop sort of thing. Rich prick drops off merchandise, other rich prick picks it up. Money is transferred."

"Still, a stupid way to go about it. There are easier ways to get around the law like that," Nadine points out. "Hundreds of other ways. They deserved to lose that shipment."

Chloe nudges her and leans in a bit. "And we deserve to find it, right?" She doesn't leave time for an answer. "Of course we do!" Her eyes turn to Sam. "I'll send you a number for a man who'll get you outfitted for the first part of the climb. We've already got our gear ready."

The man frowns and shakes his head. "Left me out until you needed a third body, huh?"

"No, no. Originally asked Charlie to join in. No bad blood there. But he's busy on another job." She shrugs. "You were just the next available option. It's not like we could ask Victor to climb half a mountain for it."

Sam grumbles about the word "available" and likely suspects they'd asked more than just Charlie before him. He'd be right, but that's unavoidable. Chloe doesn't put Nadine in situations she's uncomfortable with if she can avoid it. They're partners and Chloe is fond of keeping her happy. Nadine had to suggest Sam before Chloe agreed.

With continued muttering and a phone number to get some climbing gear, Sam leaves. He's got a hotel room across the city. Nadine, however, stays. She's got a room across the hall from Chloe's. It's Chloe's apartment, but it's convenient to have a place for Nadine to sleep.

Especially when they're so often traveling together.

The proximity allows for other things too-- but rather than some clothing free fun, Chloe gets benefits in little things. She can fall asleep on the couch, often against Nadine's side, and wake up tucked into bed. When she craves to be held, she simply asks Nadine and they sleep in the same bed. And, of course, she can go to do the dishes and find Nadine has already finished them. There's a plethora of benefits, really. She's hard-pressed to pick a favourite.

* * *

"Eish, it's cold." Nadine frowns and tugs her balaclava up higher. She looks as though she's trying to recede into her clothes.

Chloe gives her a smile. "Like me to warm you up, darling?"

Nadine's answer is honest. "Yes."

Chloe slips her arms around her partner's waist and hugs her close. Nadine's arms close around her in what could be called a bear hug. Their backpacks barely get in the way.

Thirty seconds pass. “This isn't helping as much as I'd like it to,” the ex-mercenary admits.

"You just aren't one for the cold, dear. We know that."

Just as they pull away, Sam exits one of the tents that's set up nearby. He's shivering worse than Nadine. "H, h, hey, g, guys."

"Don't refer to me like that," Nadine answers with a scowl.

Sam tries again. "H, hey, l, l, ladies."

"Better."

"It's c, cold," he stutters out. "Wh, why did I agree to this job?"

"You're broke, Sam," Chloe chimes in.

"Ah. R, right."

"You found the setup?" Nadine asks. "And you can handle it?"

"Y, yeah. I can handle it."

A ranger walks by. Chloe gives them a smile. After they've passed, Chloe nudges Sam. "They're the only reason we've got this chance, y'know." Hooking an arm into Nadine's and motioning Sam forward, she heads into the tent he had just left. "They've yet to clear those rich pricks in the other tent for their climb. We're going to take the opportunity and go before anyone else is on the upper bit of the mountain. And hopefully get back before they leave."

"Why are w, we even up here with them?" Sam asks as he heads right for the heater that's doing its best to keep the tent at a temperature above the negatives. He has to dodge around a folding table with some computer setup on it and a folding chair covered in a blanket.

"Relax, they aren't the smugglers. These assholes just come here to feel fancy about climbing. Maybe a couple actually enjoy it, but it's mostly for show." Chloe shrugs and huddles around the heater with him, tugging Nadine in on her other side. "We made sure that the smugglers didn't go on this climb. The wonders a low cut shirt and a glass of wine can do, eh China?"

Nadine smirks at the memory. Watching Chloe use her words to bring men to heel and get them to do whatever she wanted? Was very nearly a turn on for Nadine. "I'm sure they're still waiting for you at that little island resort."

"I'm a bit jealous of that, actually, but what's say you and I go to somewhere similar once we get our payday?" Chloe practically purrs the suggestion.

Sam huffs. "Listen, I was there when you two had your thing. Get a room and work it out."

Chloe raises an eyebrow. "I have no idea what you're talking about." In her head, she chastises his use of "had". She's certain it's something they have, not something they had. And sure, they've both felt comfortable staying in some relationship limbo where what they have is unnamed but they're both aware that they do, in fact, have something.

"It's about time we start our climb," Nadine speaks up. She reaches into her pocket and pulls out three bean like objects. "Earbuds," she explains. "One for each of us. They're bone conduction, should work well enough as we head up, as long as we don't get too snow covered." She passes one to Chloe, then one to Sam. The last, she places in her own ear. "Eish. It's cold."

"Brr," Chloe emphasizes. "But they seem to be working."

"You two have a tracker to carry?" Sam asks, warming his own earbud up in the palm of his hand before putting it in his ear.

Chloe digs into her pocket and pulls out something that looks a bit like a walkie-talkie. "Yup." She motions to the computer at up. "Show us you know what you're doing, yeah? For peace of mind."

Sam nods and sits in the chair. He pulls up the tracking program-- Chloe and Nadine have both been teaching him how to use it since he took the job. It's vital in finding the treasure and keeping them on the path.

"Alright... you're tracker on?" he asks. Chloe flips a switch on it. He points at the map on his screen. "That's you, there." There's a purple dot overlapping a green one. "The green is, uh. Basecamp. Where we are now." He clicks around a bit. "Yellow is the last known whereabouts."

"You can lead us to it, né?" Nadine's voice is a lot harsher than Chloe's.

"Jesus. Yeah, I can."

Chloe and Nadine make eye contact. "Ready for this, partner?"

The ex-mercenary grins. "Ja."

They head out of the tent, out of base camp, and up the mountain.

"Alright, ladies," Sam speaks up through the earbuds. "Head west as you go up."

Nadine frowns. "Dunno if I like these earbuds," she grumbles. "Don't like this voice in my head."

"Mm, but now I can hear your voice perfectly," Chloe responds. "What's so bad about that?"

"I'll rephrase. I don't like his voice in my head. Yours is different. I like yours."

"I like yours too, darling. Very much." Chloe's voice is low and sultry.

"One," Sam starts. "Words can hurt. Two, maybe you two should conserve oxygen and stop flirting."

"You're no fun."

It quickly becomes apparent that, while Sam has told them to conserve oxygen, he had no such plans himself.

Nadine sighs. It's going to be a long climb.

* * *

The trek is long and tiring. Sam blathers in their ears more often than not. Chloe's thinking of a cup of hot cocoa with a generous splash of kahlua in it. Nadine can only think of Chloe's earlier statement: the two of them alone together, at a beach or resort or something. It's an occupying thought.

But instead, they're climbing a mountain in knee-deep snow with Samuel Drake ordering them around. They're nearing their destination, apparently.

Sometimes Nadine wonders how exactly she finds herself in these situations but the answer is always the same. It's Chloe. She'd follow Chloe into the mouth of a wolf, through a horde of undead, or to the gates of hell. Hell might be preferable to the mountains, she thinks. It's warmer.

"Stop!" Sam yells. "You're there! You're right on top of it!"

Chloe scoffs. "No. Nothing is here."

"Whaddya mean? Look around, it's gotta be there."

"Look around at what?" Nadine hisses.

"You're there, alright?"

"How can we be here when here isn't even here?" she growls out. "We're in the middle of nowhere! We're standing in a field of snow! Dammit, Drake!"

"Whaddya mean "dammit, Drake"? I got you to where it is, now find it!"

Before Nadine can respond, she hears it. Something cracks under their feet. She looks at Chloe. "Mo--" She starts to say, but the ice breaks from under them.

The last thing Nadine hears before darkness takes her is Chloe's scream of pain.

Chloe, on the other hand, feels the full impact of hitting the ground, hears the sickening snap that's surely one of her own bones. She lays still on the ground for a moment before letting out a long string of expletives. Her shin on her right leg feels like it's on fire. She pushes herself up and another cry of pain is pulled from her. It's definitely broken.

"Nadine, I don't think I can--" She spots Nadine laying limp and wants to cry. "No, no no no. Nadine..."

It hurts her more than anything, but she drags herself closer and manages to role Nadine onto her back. She's still swearing and holding in all whimpers her body wants to let out, but she finds Nadine is breathing and feels better. They're still stuck-- in a cave by the looks, but she feels better. Not too much better, but Nadine being alive helps by miles.

"Sam?" she tries. "Sam, are you there?" Her head is swimming and the nerves in her leg are screaming. "Sam?" She tries once more, louder. Nothing. "Alright. No signal. Great."

Chloe digs her fingers into her thigh, trying to keep calm. It's dark, so she tugs the flashlight off her belt and looks around. She swears again when her light falls on a frozen corpse of a man. He's in modern gear, so this is no mummy. Examining more of the room, she spots two more huddled against the far wall. One has a crate beside him. It's about a foot long and half that in height. That's what they're looking for, more likely than not.

Not that it matters right now.

Tears prick her eyes as adjusts herself, making it so she's much closer to Nadine. "C'mon, China. I need you up if we're going to survive this." She pats at Nadine's cheeks. "I really, _really_ need you up..."

Nadine groans and starts to move. Chloe starts thanking every deity she can think of.

Nadine pushes herself up to a sitting position. She runs a gloved hand down her face before looking to Chloe. "Are you alright?"

Chloe hesitates. "Not exactly."

This wakes her partner up. "You're hurt. How?"

"Well, I'm fairly certain my leg is broken. As in it's definitely broken." She gestures to the leg in question. "My shin."

It's Nadine's turn to swear. "Sam?" she tries.

Chloe shakes her head. "No use. Can't get a signal down here."

"Fok. _Fok_." Nadine looks around, and then up at the hole they'd fallen through.

Her partner read her mind. "Think you can climb it?"

Nadine hesitates. "Ja. Probably." She frowns. "But I'd rather not leave you here alone."

With a shake of the head, Chloe motions to it. "I'm more likely to live if you do."

Fear crosses the other woman's face for the briefest of seconds. She reigns it in and nods. "Just... let me splint your leg first."

"Okay. I mean, I don't intend to use it while I wait, but if you'd like."

"It'll make me feel better."

"What will you use?" Chloe asks.

Nadine taps the strap of her backpack. "I've got an ace bandage in here." She pulls her own flashlight out and surveys the cave. "And I'll use part of the crate." She pushes herself up and heads for it. She has to force away one frozen arm from the top, but she carries it back over to her partner.

Chloe, a bit dizzy from the pain, watches eagerly as Nadine uses her knife to lever the thing open. She ignores what's inside and takes the top. Chloe, however, digs into the packing material inside. The first thing she removes is a shiny little broach. She turns it over in her fingers and inspects it, like a magpie with a bead. "This isn't what we came for but... money is money."

Nadine ignores her and focuses on breaking off a sizable piece of wood for the splint.  
Chloe keeps poking through. She stumbles across a small flute made from ivory. It's pretty and it'll get them some money, but it's still a sick trade. Killing elephants and rhinos for a couple pounds of bone isn't worth it and won't ever be.

The next bit of treasure makes her grin. "Here we go!" It's a jeweled necklace on a heavy golden chain. Opals decorate the chain while the main gem is a large sapphire. "Nadine, do you see this?"

Nadine doesn't look up. "The treasure isn't important. I'll look when I know you're safe."

The statement takes Chloe's breath away. Well, it would if the mountain hadn't already.

Nadine has succeeded in getting a bit of wood snapped off the lid. It's the same length as the lid but only a few inches think. It takes a couple more minutes to get a nearly identical second piece.

"How are you feeling?" she asks as she moves to the side of Chloe's injured leg.

"Happy we found the treasure? But you mean physically." Chloe takes a long and slow breath. It's a tad bit easier to breath down here than it is up above, but it's only just noticeable. "I'm in a lot if pain and I'm dizzy. Really focusing on not hyperventilating at the moment." She digs her hand back into the little crate. "And, well, looking at all this treasure we get to keep." She pulls out an amulet as she speaks. All these treasures disappear into her backpack.

"It'll hurt more when I do this. I need to see where the break is. Isolate the area. Make sure you have a pulse in your ankle. Can you wiggles your toes?"

Chloe pauses and then grimaces. "Yes. But it hurts."

Nadine frowns. "I'm not surprised. But I'm glad it's not your femur. You'd be in a lot more pain." She gulps. "I've got to pull your clothes up and over the break."

Her partner frowns back at her but nods. "Just get it over with. The faster this is done, the faster you can go get help."

The next few minutes are horrible. Chloe’s whimpers of pain seem to echo through the cave as Nadine works. She can't hold back a soft "eish" when she sees the break. The skin is black and blue and there's obvious trauma. The skin isn't broken but where the bone is pressed up underneath it is clear. Nadine works fast, trying to be efficient as she can. When she finally pulls Chloe's pant leg back into place, she wants to cry. Listening to Chloe like this is torture.  
Next, she forms the splint and makes sure to fasten it well. It needs to keep the break stable. Only when she's done and rechecked the pulse in Chloe's ankle does she stand.

Picking her backpack up off the floor, she pulls out a folded square of material and shakes it out. "Here," she speaks, handing it to Chloe. "Use my emergency blanket. And get your own out too. I want you sitting on one before I go."

Chloe is breathing heavier than she should be. She fights to steady her breathe, but she doesn't fight Nadine on it. "Okay."

It takes a minute or two and plenty of pain on Chloe's part, but she ends up huddled under one blanket while sitting on the other.

"N, now go," she orders. "Promise I'll be here when you get back."

Nadine hesitates. Then she pulls her balaclava down and leans in, and gives Chloe a small kiss. "I'll be back."

Chloe reaches up and tugs the balaclava back up. She's smiling. "I know. Stay warm."

"I'll be warm when we're off this damn mountain," Nadine mumbles. She gives Chloe a long look. "I keep thinking about that island resort."

Chloe takes a deep breath, but it's harder than she'd like. "After this, it's you, me, and the beach. I promise."

Nadine nods and turns towards the opening they had fallen through.  She can climb it, she's sure. She hates the thought of leaving Chloe there but there's no choice.

Just as she raises a hand to grab the first handhold, a thought hits her. She turns back to Chloe. "Hand me the tracker. I'll leave it at the top so we can find you."

Chloe nods. She's shivering hard, but the blanket is keeping some heat in. She digs into her pocket and passes the tracker to Nadine.

With it on her person, Nadine starts her climb. Internally, she's wondering how she could have been so unprepared as to leave behind a climbing axe or similar. A small seed of anxiety has settled in her chest and is growing steadily. She's not going to let the mountain take Chloe from her.

"It, it'd be a nice view if you weren't wearing five layers of clothes," Chloe calls up.

Nadine scoffs but smiles. "Not the time, Frazer." She hears a soft laugh in response. How this woman can find laughter when her leg is broken and she's more than eight thousand feet up, she'll never know.

Only a few feet from the top, static starts coming through her earbud. At first it's only that-- static, but then she hears a voice. A fragment of a voice, but a voice.

"... Ladies, I... sponse! ... Chloe? Nad... ease!"

"Sam?" she answers. "Sam!"

"... Adine? Is that..."

"Sam, can you hear me?" She's still climbing, the signal getting clearer as she goes. "Sam, Chloe broke her leg! Can you hear me?!"

"... appened? ... barely hear... got your sig... hear me?"

Nadine is at the top. She starts to pull herself up. "We need help, damn it! Chloe broke her leg when we fell through the ice, send help up now!"

"... the hell? ... ight, o... get... go my..."

"Fokenwil, I can't underst--" The ice cracks under her hands and she plummets. She hears Chloe cry out her name and feels the impact of her body against the ground.

She can't hear Sam anymore.

With a groan, she pushes herself up and brushes of the fragments of ice that followed her descent.

"A, are you o, okay?" Chloe tries to move to her partner but only lets out a whimper as she jostles her leg.

Nadine's eyes land on her. "Stop moving. I'm fine, don't hurt yourself more." She looks back up. Half the wall she's just climbed is smooth ice. From the top to about five feet down the handholds are gone. There's no way up. "No. No, _no_. Fok!"

"Did he respond?" Chloe asks softly.

"What?"

"Did you get through to Sam?"

Nadine sighs and swears. "No idea. I heard him, but not well. Just bits and pieces." Without saying anything else, she goes for the wall again and tries to climb up.

"Nadine," Chloe tries. She's ignored. "Nadine! Stop, it's no use."

Nadine pauses to look back at her partner. "What else am I supposed to do?"

"Hope Sam heard you." She takes a deep, shaky breath, and pats the spot beside her. "Sit. Wait."

Seeing the state Chloe is in sucks all the hope out of Nadine. She's pale, breathing hard, and is probably at the beginning stages of frostbite. She gulps. And then she steadies herself. "I have to get help."

Chloe shakes her head. "Save your s, strength. You won't be able to get up that." She indicates the spot by her again. "Sit. I'm sure he's on his way."

Nadine deflates. She sighs. "We need to stay warm."

"Then sit close."

She shakes her head and bends to pick up the crate Chloe has emptied of treasure. It's stuffed with sawdust, which she dumps into a small area close by. She sets to breaking the crate apart and forming a pile of wood on the sawdust. Some she sets to the side.

"I... are you tr... trying to make a fire?"

Nadine nods but doesn't respond more than that. She digs into her backpack again and pulls out a lighter. She's still angry at herself that she's brought that, but no climbing ax. After a few tries at lighting the pile, she gets nothing but thin wisps of smoke and sparks. "Fokenwil."

Chloe watches her stand and move to the corpses on the other side of the cave. She goes through their bags and pockets. She finds another emergency blanket and a spare balaclava in one of their bags. It's on the third body, the one close to the center of the cave, that she finds a decently sized flask. She opens it and smells the contents. "Eish. This idiot brought hard alcohol this high up?"

"I could use some of that," Chloe says. It's only half-jokingly.

Nadine considers it but shakes her head. "We need it for warmth. I'll buy you a whole bottle when we get off this damn mountain." She says when for a reason. She needs to believe it, she can't say "if".

With the alcohol, she moves back to her pile of wood and sawdust. Soaking as much of it as she can with the booze, she tries to light it again. Thankfully, it goes up. The flame is low and not well fed, but it's burning.

Only then does Nadine sit beside Chloe. She tugs the spare balaclava over Chloe's head. "You need to stay warm." She opens the second emergency blanket and wraps it around herself.

Chloe sighs. Breathing is getting harder. Her leg is throbbing. It's hard to focus. The fire is helping a bit on heat but it's still barely a dent. She decides something right then. She's got to tell her. “Nadine?"

"Ja?"

"I hope you know how lucky I am to have you," she admits quietly.

There's a pregnant pause. And then Nadine speaks. "Is... this the place to have this talk?"

Chloe shrugs. "I, I'd rather have it before I can't anymore."

That seed of anxiety in her chest blossoms into an entire rainforest of fear, all nestled in her chest, filling her throat, squeezing her lungs. Chloe thinks she's going to die here. Nadine has fought dozens of men, punched warlords, and gone against huge odds and won. But the thought of Chloe dying is scarier than everything she's been through combined.

"We can have it on the beach. I'll even let you pick my bathing suit."

A weak laugh leaves Chloe. "Tempting as th, that is..."

"Chloe..."

The treasure hunter shakes her head. "Let... Let me say what I need to, China. I'm tired."

It's terrifying, Chloe speaking like this. Nadine doesn't want to hear it. She wants to believe the two of them will get out of here, Chloe will get patched up, and they can relax for a few weeks as she heals. That's when they should have this conversation.

"We're going to get out of this," Nadine states softly.

"Of course we are, China. J.. just let me say some things."

Nadine falls silent. Chloe takes it as her cue.

"I, I think we've av... avoided it enough. Danced around it a bit. For _two years_." She's leaning against Nadine. Still dizzy, she squeezes her eyes shut as she speaks. "Though I suppose that kiss was anything but dancing around it... Whatever. I've fallen hard for you, darling." She takes a second to breath. "I planned on telling y, you, oh, at a moment we could have less clothing. But ah..." She's hit by a wave of dizziness as she tries to move her injured leg. A soft sound of pain leaves the back of her throat before she can stop it.

"Chloe." Nadine says her name like it's a prayer.

"I..." She's trying to say "I'm fine" but it doesn't make it past her lips. So she takes a few moments to breathe and let the pain drop back down to manageable levels. "Anyway... I'm abso... absolutely thrilled you're my partner. If I get through this..."

The "if" hangs in the air. Nadine hates it.

"After this," Chloe amends, but Nadine knows she meant the "if". "I'd be... I'd be very lucky if you'd m, maybe be a bit more than my partner? Because, love, you are a _sight_ and--"

"Chloe," Nadine mumbles. "All I've been thinking about since we ended up on this damn mountain was a chance to be next to you, away from Sam and all these layers of clothing. No cold, no treasure hunt, and preferably, no men about. Just you and me." She tosses another bit of wood on the little fire and hopes it'll light. "So **when** we get out of this... That's what I want."

Chloe smiles. "Well. T, that's... settled."

They fall into silence. All there is to hear is the crinkle of the emergency blankets and the wind howling outside of the cave.

Chloe's head is swimming. The pain is getting worse in her leg and she can't feel her foot. Her consciousness ebbing in and out. So she speaks up again.

"Could you... talk to me? I can't, it's hard to... I need something to focus on, darling."

"What do you want me to talk about?"

Her mind draws a blank. But this is Nadine. "Animals?"

"Tasmanian devils are the largest carnivorous marsupials." It's the first thing that comes to mind. She goes with it. "They're fierce when they feed. Have a loud screech. The females eat their weakest young."

"Sou... Sounds like my mother," Chloe jokes in a weak voice.

"They were declared endangered in '08. There's programs to keep them from going extinct." She pauses to think of something else about them. "They have one of the strongest bites per unit of body mass. Out of living species, at least. It's from the way their head and neck are structured."

"Anything... else?"

"They can climb trees. Helps the young devils escape from older ones that could be hunting them. They can swim well too." She hums. "They're mostly nonterritorial, apart from females and their dens. They sometimes steal dens from wombats. They also have been known to steal clothes and blankets from humans for their dens."

Chloe still can't focus. She's trying. She wants to hear what Nadine is saying. She loves the passion with which Nadine speaks about animals.

"They can take down small kangaroos. They eat carrion more than they hunt, though. They can even take down sheep. They'll eat almost any meat available. They--"

"Nadine," Chloe cuts off. Her voice is barely a whisper. She's decided something. She needs to say it.

"... Ja?"

The breath she takes is slow and torturous. She's fighting a losing battle. "Promise me something."

There's no hesitation in her partner's response. "Ja. Anything."

"Don't blame yourself."

It takes a few seconds for her meaning to sink in. _Don't blame yourself for my death._ Nadine panics.

"What?! No, Chloe, you're going to be fine-- I promise that. That you'll get out of here. We will get out of here!" Her voice is soft but earnest. Chloe believes her. Nadine won't let her body stay in this cave. That's enough for her.

"Promise me," she manages to say. Her vision is growing dim. "Promise that, that you won't blame yourself."

And maybe it should surprise Chloe, how fast she's accepted death. But this isn't the first time, even if it's probably the last time. She was ready to die on that damn train. Sure, she didn't want to, but she had accepted that it was the most likely result. That her life would have been forfeit to save the lives of everyone in the marketplace, of the soldiers who would've been sent to fight in the civil war. So it doesn't surprise Chloe that she's accepted she'll die in this cave. Nadine still has a good chance of getting out. Sam will show up. Or hell, she could find another way out. But Chloe is sure she's done. That this is it.

"I can't, Chloe-- I can't."

"Please." Her voice is weak. Barely audible. "I need it."

Nadine is crying. She can't help it and she can feel the tears freeze on her cheeks. "I promise," she finally says.

But Chloe doesn't answer. She's not moving, slumped against Nadine's side.

Swears tumble from her mouth like toads from the cursed favourite daughter. "No, no... Chloe, please." She checks for a pulse but she can't feel anything through her gloves. She fights to pull one off but hears the roar of an engine outside. A snowmobile.

It cuts off and she hears a voice over the wind outside. "Chloe? Nadine?"

It's the first time she's ever been happy to hear Sam's voice.

"Down here!" she yells, loud as she possibly can. "We're down here!"

* * *

Sam runs a hand through his hair and sighs. He's dying for a cigarette. But the nurse has already confiscated his pack. In hindsight, leaning out the window to smoke probably wasn't a good idea.

He coughs and winces at how painful it is. Maybe it's a good thing the nurse took them.

"Knock knock," says a familiar voice.

Sam looks up to see Nate in the doorway. He's actually surprised. "Oh. Hey. Didn't really expect you to come."

"And what, have my brother sit bored in his hospital room for a week?" Nate barely smiles at his poor excuse for a joke. It's a somber mood all around. "How're you feeling?"

"Like I went up a mountain when I shouldn't have. Like a lot of bad shit went down that no one needed. Like using an oxygen tank to get to the height I did wasn't enough. The options are endless." He shrugs and leans back. "But I don't have room to complain. I didn't get the worst of it."

There's silence between them.

Nate breaks it. "Apparently not." He's frowning. "Elena is taking the next flight she can. Actually, Sully is going to get her."

"Everyone is congregating here, huh?"

The younger man shrugs. “You're my brother, Elena is good friends with Nadine and Chloe…” He trails off and shakes his head. It's a few seconds later that he speaks again. “How's Nadine taking it?”

“Horribly. I don't think she's moved from her spot since they brought us here.” He's frowning. “She and Chloe…”

More silence sits there.

Nate isn't really surprised that something has gone wrong. He knows why he got out of the treasure hunting business-- at least, the illegal one. He doesn't want that life anymore, constantly wondering if he or his friends will survive. He's comfortable in his life with Elena, especially with the prospect of them having a child. But his changes haven't stopped his friends from going on treasure hunts. He still hears about them getting hurt, about dangerous jobs, about close calls. He had been happy, if a bit uneasy, to note Chloe got hurt a lot less after she'd partnered with Nadine.

“I think I'm going to go talk to her,” he decides. “Nadine will probably be a bit better if I check in, instead of, you know, well… you.”

Sam shakes his head. “I don't get that. I'm around her more than you are. How did she warm up to you faster than she has me?”

Nate gives his brother a long look. “Sam… You nearly shot her in the head. The only reason you didn’t… is because I stopped you. How could you forget that?”

The smoker goes pale. “Ah. I didn’t, I just… I try to.”

“I’ll be back soon. I’m sure she’ll get tired of me fast.” Nate goes back for the door. He stops before he leaves and looks back. “I’m glad you’re alright, Sam. Maybe, uh… Might be time to stop smoking?”

Sam waves him off. “A floor up, room one seventeen.”

“Thanks.”

Nadine is standing by the window when Nate gets to the room. She glances back at him. “Nathan,” she greets. Her arms are crossed and she shows no interest in moving.

He glances to the hospital bed. Chloe is unmoving, but her heart rate monitor reads a steady rate.

“Hey,” he responds. “Has she woken up yet?”

Nadine shakes her head. “No.”

Nate isn't surprised she's being a bit standoffish. Not with what's gone on.

It's been more than two years since the ordeal with Rafe and Nate is glad that they're not on opposite sides anymore. But it's not like all that happened can be erased. Still, their mutual friend is Chloe and she has a way of making things go how she wants. So the relations between Nadine and Nate have improved. They know they're both important to Chloe. And, at the very least, Nadine holds less issue with Nate than she does Sam.

“How are you holding up?”

Her response takes a moment. Nadine ends up shaking her head and sighing. “I don’t have an answer.” She turns toward him. “They said she went into shock. But she could wake up at any moment.”

“At least they think she’ll wake up,” he tries.

“Ja. At least there’s that.” She moves to the chair at the side of the bed and collapses in it. She looks almost defeated.

There’s a second chair. He tugs it a bit and sits. “Have you been here the whole time?”

She shrugs. “I left to get food. And get some things from the hotel and a shower.”

“It’s good they let you stay. Hospitals don’t always let friends stick around.” He realizes, a second later, that maybe he doesn’t know the whole story. Maybe they’re more than friends. It would be good, he decides, if Chloe had that. She deserves someone who can deal with anything she can put them through and be there for her through everything.

Nadine blushes. “Ah. I may have… strong-armed my way to staying. And, ah… we each have fake IDs that say we’re married-- well, that… share the last name. She decided on it after I was shot in Cancun and they wouldn’t let her into my room before I woke up.”

Nate laughs. “Yeah, that sounds like her.”

“Eish, it just surprised me how fast she got them.” Nadine lets herself smile a bit as she looks at Chloe on the bed. “She moves fast when she’s motivated.”

“She just knows how to get things. It helped a lot when Elena got hurt in Tibet.”

“She’s told me a little about that. She wasn’t kind with how you were.” Nadine crosses her arms again. “Even if she understands why you did.”

It’s Nate’s turn to shrug. “It’s all good. I screwed up a lot in that line of work.”

The woman scoffs. “Understatement, if what Elena tells me is true.”

Nate cringes but nods. “It’s probably true. She, uh, saw everything a lot clearer than I did.” He glances between her and Chloe. “I get the feeling you’re like that when it comes to Chloe.”

Nadine’s quiet response is a hum. “I think we’re that for each other. Depends on the situation.”

A surprisingly easy silence takes over the room for a few minutes.

A question pops into Nate’s head, and it feels like overstepping, but he asks anyway. “Do you… Is it better with her? Than with Shoreline?”

Nadine inhales, deep and slow. She’s had this conversation with Chloe before.  Her response, though, doesn’t have to be what he expects. She looks him in the eye and asks. “Is it better with Elena? Than treasure hunting?”

Nate laughs. He gets her meaning. They’ve both been lucky enough to get amazing women in their life. And then it sinks in. Nadine feels for Chloe the way he feels for Elena. “I guess that’s a good answer. It gets your point across.”

“You two getting along?” A raspy voice asks. “I like that.”

Nadine starts. “Chloe!” she murmurs. She’s at her side before she can think.

“Hey there, China… Miss me?”

Nadine grits her teeth but doesn’t respond. She’s remembered that Nate is still in the room.

Chloe looks to him and manages a smile. “Hey there, cowboy. Didn’t expect to see you if I woke up again.”

Nate shrugs. “With you and Sam in the hospital, I thought it was worth the time. Elena is coming to visit too.”

“I’ll be glad to see her.” Chloe tries to sit up-- her arms shake as she does. Nadine is there to help, finding the remote for the bed. As soon as Chloe has a place to lean, she gives Nate a curious look. “Why’s Sam here too?”

“He had a hard time from going up the mountain,” Nate explains. “You came off worse, believe me.” The man stands and moves a bit closer. “Speaking of him, I should head back. He’ll want to know you’re awake.” He gives Chloe a peck on the cheek, nods to Nadine, and leaves the room.

Nadine watches after him for a moment. She knows he left so they could be alone.

“So, darling… Seems I owe you my life again.” Chloe’s humorous expression drops when she looks to Nadine. She’s crying. “Hey, it’s fine, you know. I’m still here, Nadine.”

Nadine looks as though she’s in pain. She lets herself reach out to Chloe, take her hand. “It was terrifying,” she mumbles. “I thought you were dead. And I couldn’t do anything.” She uses her free hand to wipe a few tears from her cheek. “The only reason you’re alive right now is because Sam was able to find us.”

Chloe pulls Nadine’s hand up to her lips and kisses her knuckles. “But I am alive.” She gives her partner a smile. “Which means we can go to the beach as soon as the hospital lets me leave. I can still pick your bathing suit, right?”

Nadine can’t help it; she laughs. “Ja. You can.”

A grin spreads across Chloe’s lips. She finds a small victory in getting that answer.

She still feels weak, but she tugs Nadine in to sit beside her. “Well, dearest. Care to tell me what the damage is?”

It’s not Nadine’s favourite subject, but she’s memorized the answer. “Your leg was badly broken-- still is, but surgery set it. It’ll take a while yet to heal.” She lets herself relax, just a tad. Chloe is here. She’s alive. “Frostbite, too. Some minor bruising. You’re alive. That’s what matters.”

“Have I been out long?”

“A few days.”

“Crap…” She frowns. “Did the treasure make it out with us?”

That makes Nadine laugh. “Ja. It’s safe at the hotel. I’ve started to look for buyers, but… I was preoccupied.”

Chloe has to think for a moment before she can guess at her meaning. “You stayed here the whole time?”

Nadine looks away, cheeks going red. “Not the whole time. Just… most of it.”

The treasure hunter considers teasing her for it, but in truth, she finds it sweet. Maybe misguided, but sweet. She smiles. “I’m never going to get rid of you, am I?”

Nadine returns the smile. “No.”

“Good.” She rests her head on Nadine’s shoulder. “You should work on getting those buyers. I say we’ve earned ourselves a nice and long vacation.”

“I’ll find us some beachfront cabin to rent,” Nadine promises. “We can go off grid. No one will be able to contact us if we don’t want them to.”

“Mm, you really know how to excite a girl, huh?” Chloe goes silent for a moment. She remembers admitting to Nadine some rather intimate things and those feelings being mutual.

“Nadine, darling,” she purrs out. “I don’t ever remember getting a clear answer, so I’ll ask again. Would you be willing to be more than partners? Because the bathing suit I’m picking for you isn’t really one just friends tend to see.”

Nadine rolls her eyes but grins. “You want me to swim naked, don’t you?”

“Look at that. Drop dead gorgeous and incredibly smart. The woman of my dreams.”

“Ja, Chloe. More than partners.” She sighs and shakes her head. “But I’d rather actually wear a bathing suit.”

“Ah, but China, imagine the benefits! No tan lines! An excuse to show off that wonderful body of yours! The ability to take my breath away just by existing.”

“Chloe, I’ve spent the last few days praying that you keep your breath,” Nadine points out.

Chloe thinks for half a second. “People in a better mood heal faster, right? Imagine how good a mood I’d be in if I got to see that sculpted, goddess-like body of yours more often!”

Nadine is blushing, but her expression is remaining decidedly positive. “I suppose that answers on whether or not you’ve peeked when we changed near each other in the past.”

“Mh, well, I hope you don’t blame me for that. You’re gorgeous, darling. I just wanted to see exactly how well your body matched up with your lovely face.”

“Listen to the doctors and heal up and I’ll let you see up close.”

Chloe laughs and pulls Nadine a bit closer. “That’s my kind of bribe. Can I get an advance on any of it? I’d settle for a kiss.”

That, Nadine can do. She turns and kisses her. She wants to linger, but holds herself back and pulls away. “More when you’re out of the hospital,” she states.

“Oh, you bloody tease!”

Nadine laughs again and pulls Chloe into a hug. The woman grumbles a bit but she doesn’t fight it. “If you listen to the doctors and don’t complain,” she adds. “I might consider your choice of bathing suit an option.”

“Well, at least there’s that.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Will try to put new stuff up soon.


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